Laurence Fox has put his foot in it, again, as he is wont to do.
This time, and posting on Twitter, the contrarian decided that people who are criticised for not getting the coronavirus vaccine are akin to those who have contracted HIV, despite the fact that HIV is a virus transmitted through sex or sharing needles and coronavirus is an airborne virus spread through tiny droplets of saliva.
His comments came after it was reported that some of the professional dancers in this year’s lineup of Strictly Come Dancing have not been vaccinated against Covid. Some are calling for the removal of the unnamed performers from Strictly Come Dancing because they may contract the virus and spread it to others. Fox, who has criticized vaccines a million times before, disagreed.
Fox’s tweet was reacted to by many people, including a representative of a sexuality charity.
Meanwhile, during Tuesday’s Lorraine, the programme’s resident medical adviser Dr Hilary Jones explained how having three unvaccinated dancers in Strictly could be problematic.
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“It’s really odd, it’s a grey area. This is particularly poignant because when you’re dancing cheek-to-cheek, you’re breathing somebody else’s exhaled breath, you’re touching them, you’re sweating together,” he said.
“It’s close, it’s intimate. This is not sitting a metre away from somebody at a desk with a screen between you. The guidelines are that employers, in this case, the BBC, should minimise the risk, mitigate the risk, do health and safety assessments. Have they been done? I don’t know.”
He continued: “I think it could create a problem if another positive case breaks out, and the crew and the dancers become infected, the show is off and the schedule is down the drain. There are repercussions.”
A Strictly spokesperson previously said of the reports: “We do not comment on speculation of somebody’s Covid vaccination status.
“Strictly Come Dancing production has, and will, continue to follow strict government guidelines to ensure the safety of all on the show.”
If only there were strict government guidelines to get Laurence Fox to put a sock in it.